This poll, the second of two fielded August 2012, is part of a continuing series of monthly surveys that solicits public opinion on a range of political and social issues. Respondents were asked how well Barack Obama was handling the presidency on issues such as foreign policy, the economy, the war in Afghanistan, and the performance of Congress. Data were collected on voter enthusiasm for the 2012 election, intentions to vote, as well as current opinions on specific election issues. Several questions were asked about the state of the nation today and respondent feelings about the future. Participants were also asked for their opinions on the favorability of the vice-presidential candidates Joe Biden and Paul Ryan, their ability to be an effective president, and whether Paul Ryan would influence their voting preference for Mitt Romney. Opinions were collected on the direction that each presidential candidate would take the nation, and which candidate would do a better job handling issues such as economy and unemployment, Medicare, and helping middle class Americans. Furthermore, participants were queried about their own opinions on election issues such as abortion, Congressman Todd Akin's statements on abortion, the Tea Party movement, and health care. Additional topics included family financial improvements over the past four years, expectations for television coverage of the two parties, the Supreme Court decision that allowed unlimited funds spent on political advertising, and whether celebrities' public support of a candidate would influence voting choice. Demographic information includes sex, age, race, marital status, education level, household income, employment status, religious preference, type of residential area (e.g., urban or rural), political party affiliation, political philosophy, voting behavior, whether respondents were registered to vote, and whether respondents thought of themselves as born-again Christians.

This poll, the second of two fielded August 2012, is part of a continuing series of monthly surveys that solicits public opinion on a range of political and social issues. Respondents were asked how well Barack Obama was handling the presidency on issues such as foreign policy, the economy, the war in Afghanistan, and the performance of Congress. Data were collected on voter enthusiasm for the 2012 election, intentions to vote, as well as current opinions on specific election issues. Several questions were asked about the state of the nation today and respondent feelings about the future. Participants were also asked for their opinions on the favorability of the vice-presidential candidates Joe Biden and Paul Ryan, their ability to be an effective president, and whether Paul Ryan would influence their voting preference for Mitt Romney. Opinions were collected on the direction that each presidential candidate would take the nation, and which candidate would do a better job handling issues such as economy and unemployment, Medicare, and helping middle class Americans. Furthermore, participants were queried about their own opinions on election issues such as abortion, Congressman Todd Akin's statements on abortion, the Tea Party movement, and health care. Additional topics included family financial improvements over the past four years, expectations for television coverage of the two parties, the Supreme Court decision that allowed unlimited funds spent on political advertising, and whether celebrities' public support of a candidate would influence voting choice. Demographic information includes sex, age, race, marital status, education level, household income, employment status, religious preference, type of residential area (e.g., urban or rural), political party affiliation, political philosophy, voting behavior, whether respondents were registered to vote, and whether respondents thought of themselves as born-again Christians.

Universe:
Persons aged 18 years and older living in households with telephones in the United States.

Data Type(s):
survey data

Methodology

Sample:
A variation of random-digit dialing (RDD) using primary sampling units (PSUs) was employed, consisting of blocks of 100 telephone numbers identical through the eighth digit and stratified by geographic region, area code, and size of place. Phone numbers were dialed from RDD samples of both standard land-lines and cell phones. Within households, respondents were selected using a method developed by Leslie Kish and modified by Charles Backstrom and Gerald Hursh (see Backstrom and Hursh, SURVEY RESEARCH. Evanston, IL: Northwestern University Press, 1963).

Time Method:
Cross-sectional

Weight:
The data contain a weight variable that should be used in analyzing the data. According to the CBS News Web site, the data were weighted to match United States Census Bureau breakdowns on age, sex, race, education, and region of the country. The data were also adjusted for the fact that people who share a telephone with others have less chance to be contacted than people who live alone and have their own telephones, and that households with more than one telephone number have more chances to be called than households with only one telephone number.

Mode of Data Collection:
telephone interview

Extent of Processing: ICPSR data undergo a confidentiality review and are altered when necessary to limit the risk of
disclosure. ICPSR also routinely creates ready-to-go data files along with setups in the major
statistical software formats as well as standard codebooks to accompany the data. In addition to
these procedures, ICPSR performed the following processing steps for this data collection: